


Who Said It First

by RichardGraysonPercyJackson



Series: The Forbidden Love of Nightwing and Deathstroke [7]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Caring Slade Wilson, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Poisoning, Protective Slade Wilson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 05:14:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18403826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RichardGraysonPercyJackson/pseuds/RichardGraysonPercyJackson
Summary: The first time they said "I love you"





	Who Said It First

It had been a long night.

Hell, a long week.

Because of that, Dick hadn’t seen Slade in about a week since he’d been working almost non-stop in Gotham and thus crashing at the manor, too tired to drive back to his apartment in Bludhaven.

He texted Slade on occasion but the mercenary had ended up leaving the country for a contract shortly after Dick got ‘stranded’ in Gotham (it  _ was  _ winter after all) so Dick wasn’t too sad about that.

Still, he was starting to miss being alone. Not that he didn’t love his family because he really really did.

But he also missed being alone.

 

……..

 

Currently, Dick was freezing his  _ ass  _ off by Gotham Bay. There were rumors that Riddler and Penguin were going to try and do some sort of shipment despite the literal  _ blizzard  _ running through Gotham.

Batman was busy with Robin, trying to hunt down Poison Ivy - who Nightwing was pretty sure wasn’t out in this weather.

Red Robin was benched with a broken ankle and Red Hood…

He’d fucked on out of Gotham the second it had started to snow. Nightwing couldn’t blame him. Currently unable to feel his fingers and toes, he was starting to wish he’d done the same.

Dick’s biggest flaw was his loyalty to Bruce. Both Jason and Slade had told him as such time and time again. Dick had tried to deny it but as he sat by the bay, half covered in snow and unable to feel most of his body, he was starting to understand what they were getting at.

He’d been sitting there for almost three hours now and he was wondering if maybe Bruce’s intel had been wrong. That thought only lasted so long before something was hitting him in the back of the head, sending him toppling from his perch.

He managed to catch himself in a rough tumble and by the time he was righting himself, he was already surrounded by Riddler and Penguin’s henchmen.

“Evening, gentlemen,” Nightwing said with a bright smile. “Lovely weather, isn’t it?”

“Hello Nightwing,” Riddler greeted. “Tell me, what’s black, blue, and red?”

Nightwing opened his mouth to reply but he didn’t get a chance ot speak before something sharp - a needle - was being jammed into his neck, its contents plunged into his veins.

“It’s you!” Riddler cackled, doubling over and laughing as Penguin rolled his eyes, ordering his men to tightly tie Nightwing’s ankles to a nearby anchor.

Already, the drug was kicking in and Nightwing found himself unable to move as chains were wrapped around his thighs, calves, and ankles.

“Throw him in the bay!” Penguin ordered and Nightwing could only watch as he was dragged by unresponsive limbs.

_ Well.  _ He thought to himself, fingers twitching in a failed attempt to reach his emergency beacon.  _ What a fun way to go out. _

That was his last thought before his body was thrown into the freezing Gotham waters.

 

………

 

“Don’t move.”

That was the first thing Dick heard when he regained consciousness. His limbs burned and he could feel himself shivering, trembling violently.

He peeled his eyes open, gazing around the darkened room he barely recognized as his own before dragging his gaze to the figure beside him.

Jason stood there with his lips pressed into a thin line, Dick’s wrist held in his hand as he took the acrobat’s pulse.

“Jay?” Dick asked, voice hoarse and raspy. He frowned when he realized he was wearing an oxygen mask but when he reached up to take it off, Jason slapped his hand away, still looking at something outside of Dick’s line of sight.

“I said don’t move,” Jason ordered, voice shaking just slightly.

“What’s going on?” Dick asked.

“You were poisoned.”

He let his gaze slid over to find Damian seated on the bed on his left. “When?”

“You were staking out the bay, watching for Penguin and Riddler,” Damian reported. “They got the drop on you and, after poisoning you, they threw you into the bay.”

“But I’m alive,” Dick said. “So I’ll be okay. Right?”

Damian sighed. “No, Grayson,” he said quietly. “If you don’t move, then we can extend your life by at least a week.”

“We can postpone your death for about a week,” Jason corrected. “But the more you move, the less time you have.”

“How-”

“The poison feeds off of hypothermia,” Damian explained. “Which is what you had developed. You’re lucky Drake left his post to check on you and managed to get you out of the bay before you drowned.”

“But now I’m going to die in a week.”

“That won't happen if you don't move,” Jason said, gently setting Dick’s arm back under the covers. “Which you’re really bad at doing.”

Dick gave a weak laugh which quickly turned into violent coughing. Quickly but carefully, Jason and Damian helped him sit up. When he could finally breathe again, Dick collapsed against Jason, shivering weakly.

“Damian,” Jason said, easing the oxygen mask off of Dick’s face. “Get Bruce.”

Damian went without a word which instantly had Dick on edge. “What?” he asked hoarsely as Jason lay him back down, helping him to sit at a slight incline. “W-what’s happening?”

“You’re coughing up blood,” Jason replied.

“Which means?”

“You have less time than we thought you did.”

 

………….

 

As the days passed, Dick got worse and worse until he dropped into a near hypothermic state of constant shivering. His fingertips and lips were blue and he was barely conscious. Even when he was, he wasn’t aware.

He shifted, barely, muttering under his breath. Only Jason had ever caught what he was saying and it hadn’t taken him long to figure out what it meant.

But he wasn’t going to tell anyone. Not even if Dick died.

 

……..

 

It was one of the days were Dick wasn’t coherent. He was muttering and shifting. Somewhere in the haze of his cold, he felt a warm hand against his cheek, lips on his forehead.

He mumbled incoherently, turning towards the warmth. Something slid under his skin and sudden  _ fire  _ licked through his veins. But he was so weakened by the poison and hypothermia that he could barely react.

The last thing he heard before darkness encased him were the whispered words, “I love you.”

 

……….

**One Month Later**

 

“You know, I always thought I’d say it first.”

Slade didn’t bother to look up as he said, “Close the window. You’re letting the cold in.”

Dick rolled his eyes as he slipped into Slade’s living room and closed the window, moving back to Slade’s bedroom to take a quick, warm shower and change out of his suit and into a pair of sweatpants and a Nightwing hoodie he kept at Slade’s.

He came back far warmer twenty minutes later and instantly got onto the couch, curling into Slade’s side.

“Hi,” he said with a smile when the mercenary finally looked at him. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Slade replied, setting his tablet aside and pulling Dick into his lap, ignoring the little squeak the acrobat let out. “And you, little bird? How are you feeling?”

“I’m recovering,” Dick replied. “I still get really cold, but I’m not dying anymore.”

“Good,” Slade said with a nod. “That’s good.”

Dick let the silence go for maybe three seconds before he was speaking again. “I didn’t expect you to say it first.”

Slade raised an eyebrow. “Say what?”

“Don’t play dumb,” Dick told him, leaning into Slade’s warm chest. “I know I was mostly incoherent while I was sick but I  _ know  _ I heard your voice.”

“Yes,” Slade said. “I overheard that you were ill. I snuck in to get a blood sample and managed to find the cure. I returned and gave you the cure then I left.”

“Slade,” Dick said quietly. “I remember what you said.”

Slade was silent. “I will admit, I said it in the moment for fear that you were too far gone and the cure was going to kill you,” Slade said slowly. “But that doesn’t make it any less true. I do love you, Richard. I’m sorry that you had to be dying for me to realize that.”

Dick gave him a gentle smile, brushing Slade’s loose hair away from his face as he leaned forward and pressed her lips together in a gentle kiss.

“I love you too,” he said with a smile before trailing his hands down Slade’s chest. “You know,” he murmured, playing with the hem of Slade’s t-shirt. “I have a few hours before I’m expected back at the cave. We should do something.”

“Oh?” Slade asked. “And what did you have in mind?”

Dick grinned.


End file.
